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LEGENDS THE DEVIL VISITS STANSGATE
PRIORY BRADWELL-on-SEA - The Ghost capital of the
area The Roman Road still exists although covered in
tarmac Rumours abound of a hoof beats being heard with
no sign of a horse passing and a roman soldier marching along the old
road. THE BUTLER OF BRADWELL LODGE In the early 1800's the butler of the Rector of
Bradwell committed suicide in his small room on the upper
floor. WALTER LINNET
BRANDY HOLE
NORTH FAMBRIDGE - A story of true romance
Captain Cammock became a widower when his wife
Ursula died leaving him with 9 children. However Captain Cammock Courted Alice
the daughter of Lord Rich who fell in love with him . However Lord Rich did not
consider the widowed Captain Cammock a suitable match. One dark and stormy night
the lovers took advantage of the Lords absence to elope. Lord Rich unexpectedly
returned and gave chase to the lovers. As the lovers reached the ferry crossing
at South FAMBRIDGE they found that the ferry was on the wrong side of the River
with the Lord close behind. The lovers decided to risk all and plunged into the
swollen River Crouch on one horse to try to swim across. As their horse reached
midpoint the Earl reached the bank and his horse whinnied. The lovers horse
heard this sound and returned to the original bank. On their return the Lord
declared that in view of the devotion shown he would consent to marriage and the
pair wed for a long and happy life having are ported 13
children. Four and Twenty Blackbirds a baked into a pie
The familiar nursery rhyme is based on fact as Blackbird
pie was enjoyed by Marsh men . The breasts of twenty to thirty birds were required for
each pie with a piece of fat for flavour. The ghostly bells of the River Crouch - The Hart
Family of witches The Hart family were the most notorious witches to
reside in the area . The last Hart witch is documented as living near Deadway
Bridge, Latchingdon in the early 1900's. Rumour had it that legions of imps were
hidden in her cottage. One night a man was riding past her cottage when he met a
vast army of small animals with fiery red eyes. He lashed his horse and escaped
although to his dying day he claimed that the creatures were Mistress Hart's
imps on their way to cause mischief. Witches and Warlocks Isabel Whyte, a spinster of Purleigh appeared at Essex
Quarter Sessions accused of killing two cows, a ram and 9 pigs belonging to
Thomas Ward in March 1600. She was accused of bewitching the animals and causing
them to die although she was acquitted of the charge. John Smyth alias Salmon of Danbury also appeared before
Essex Quarter Sessions where he was found guilty of bewitching 8 cows,6 calves,
3 pigs and 7 ewes belonging to Francis Simon of Stow Maries. He was however
acquitted on a charge of bewitching to death Rose Larkin also of Stow Maries.
The sentence is not recorded. A retired Policeman called Buzzy and his friend Silly
Bill lived in the Latchingdon area where they worked on the land. Buzzy was
renowned for his magic and his ability to cause farm machinery to stop merely by
looking at the machine ( this may well have been a crafty way to gain a break by
the workmen rather than magic!) . His most famous magic was to look at a silent
thrashing engine which suddenly burst into life.
Cluniac Priory was
established in the 12th century at Stansgate, Steeple.
The farmer was ploughing the field next to the old Priory when he spoke
out loud that the Devil could have his soul if he would do the ploughing. The
Devil then appeared and took the plough. The frightened farmer ran to the priory
church with the devil in hot pursuit. As the farmer entered the church the devil
made a lunge just missing the farmer.
According
to legend marks could be seen on the stone building that were reputed to be the
devil.
The priory was demolished by the
landowner in 1923 although the field in question was not again ploughed until
1946 as successive farmers were worried by the legend.
The land in question is now owned by Anthony Wedgewood-Benn the
celebrated MP.
ROMAN
GHOSTS
The Romans built a
fort called Othona which was garrisoned to prevent raids by Norsemen. A road
connected Othona to Roman settlements at Danbury, Chelmsford and
Colchester.
Today this road is still in use to
connect Othona with the village.
The origin of these stories is unclear but
they may be connected to the popularity of Othona and the adjoining St Peters
Chapel for use by smuggling gangs from 1700 to about 1850 . The rumour of ghosts
may have helped to keep the Revenue men away.
Occupants since then have heard footsteps
pass when no one is visible. A maid, unaware of the legend, who was to sleeping
the room refused to do so after just one night for reasons that she could not
explain.
The ghost of a young child has also
occasionally been seen at Bradwell Lodge.
Walter Linnet lived in a tiny cottage close to
Othona. At the turn of the century Linnet was the finest punt gunner in the area
making his living from killing hundreds of ducks each day that congregated in
the waters of Bradwell in their thousands.
Although in modern times the numbers are fewer the estuary still
attracts both rare birds and bird watchers.
The
RSPB now own Linnets Cottage and use it as a base and overnight accommodation
for some of their members.
On many occasions
sleeping residents have woken in the cottage to find a figure standing over them
or seen a face peering through the windows. In most cases the description fits
Walter Linnet.
Linnet's cottage is now
used by the RSPB
to visit a page with more information on Linnett's Cottage
Brandy Hole is a location in the Crouch opposite to
Bridgemarsh Island which received its name from it's popularity with smugglers.
So it is not surprising that a number of ghost stories are associated with the
area.
However one October day in the early 1970's
a yachtsman was on his way home in the twilight when his car broke down. He
opened the bonnet and tried to find out what was wrong. After a few minutes he
saw a man alongside him watching. At first he thought it was his passenger but
then realised that the man was dressed in a blue seaman's sweater. As he took a
better look he saw that the man did not exist below the waist. He called to the
passenger in the car and when he looked back the man had gone. The passenger saw
nothing of this man.
A footnote to this story is that
Captain Cannock is buried at All saints Church, Maldon with his two wives
either side of him.
Blackbirds,
Rooks,plover,moorhen,dunlin and even sparrows were used as filling for a suet
pie or in a stew with dumplings.
Meat from Rooks was so
strong that they had to be cooked with lots of onion and bacon to mask the
taste.
The local name for this dish was Oxbird Pudden ( Oxbird was
the local name for Dunlin)
To celebrate the availability of small
birds 12 May was declared as Rook shooting day in villages across
Essex.
As a witch Mistress Hart suffered from
an allergy to Church Bells. She was especially annoyed by the bells at
Latchingdon Church. One night she removed the bells from the church tower and
took them to Burnham where she attempted to take them to the opposite side of
the river. Instead of a boat she used a barrel and used a feather for an oar.
Not suprisingly neither she or the bells made the crossing. Legend has it that
on stormy nights the bells can be hear tolling from under the River
Crouch
Fanny
Bird was Creaksea's witch who was used to get her way from people scared of her
magical spells. One day a man refused to move out of her way. She said to the
man " You look out. I'll see you get home wetter than you started off today" .
The man laughed and continued his way but a few minutes later he fell into a
dyke and nearly drowned.
